I am a composer, experimental vocalist, and improviser who prioritizes emotional and bodily vulnerability. In particular, I use voice—an instrument deeply connected to the body—to explore embodied themes such as gender, queerness, religious trauma, and nature. My current focus is in narrative vocal works that incorporate movement, original text, and costume. My music is informed by experimental pop, performance art, and the Korean vocal genre pansori. In addition to being a vocalist-composer, I am also a pianist, accordionist, and loop pedal-player. I improvise primarily with stream-of-conscious text and extended voice as a method of unsurfacing subconscious emotion and imagery. 

 

In 2020, I completed a Fulbright Research Grant in Seoul, South Korea during which I learned pansori performance and composition. As a part of my grant, I began my one-person multidisciplinary opera SPIDERLILY which will be performed in 2023. In 2018, I graduated from the University of Michigan in composition and am currently completing my MFA at the California Institute of Arts as a Performer-Composer.

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Honors include being the youngest composer to be commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony and Ballet; receiving the University of Michigan Sang Yong Nam Memorial Award in Korean studies; and residencies at Gabriela Lena Frank Academy, Westben, and Art Omi.

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Email epperlyra@gmail.com for inquiries.